Novaris. Septer - Octus. 905. AGC.

  Nodel. Waning Crescent ??. Days 25-1.

  After days of training and the nerve-racking day with Tesilim’s unresolved Chaos Event, it eventually became time once again for the party to take a break. As usual, this was prompted by the twins' weakness phase, something the party had indeed been training for. After all, if they went on the expedition, they would need the siblings to stick with the party, regardless of what was happening. And since the twins said they could handle the weakness periods fairly well, the party worked to ensure clear communication so that if such a period led to a slight loss of consciousness, everyone could react if they needed help.

  With this in mind, the party was fully aware that there was an elephant in the room. This elephant was that the twins were unreachable for 4 days out of the month, which presented a problem. However, they were working under the assumption that the siblings would let them know what was going on at the appropriate time, so they could work around whatever magic ailed them. Until then, the party was happy to accommodate them, as it allowed them to spend time on their own or in the city during the week when the weakness started.

  In essence, it was a week off that the party could use to train or do any number of activities, like hang out with their best friend. For Rose, the week of training that had occurred after Jasmine came back had been rather torturous. She had been able to spend some time with her best friend, but their training had only intensified as they tried to be at their best in case the expedition recruitment began. At this point, it was clear an expedition was underway, given the numerous rumors from various sources. So now that they could take some time off, even if they would still do some training, Rose was making sure that she spent more than enough time with Jasmine.

  Their time together was spent revisiting places they had already explored, such as Keepers Keeper. The store was a massive place with all sorts of magical items, from weapons and armors to potions and even food items for sale, to the point that one could even order custom magical items, even if the prices were criminal. Obviously, they didn't have the gold to buy anything, but it was always a favorite pastime to spend time walking around, reading descriptions of magical items, and wishing they had enough gold to purchase them.

  When not visiting Keepers Keeper, Rose and Jasmine would visit the library to read a few magical tomes about techniques and enhancement. It also allowed Jasmine to find the latest books in the series she had lost track of. The last part was especially important as Jasmine hadn’t been able to start reading for pleasure until recently due to the many issues she had experienced. With this in mind, when the library days happened, the two friends would often train together, practicing their melee combat and exchanging ideas for future techniques.

  If the days were not spent at Keeper's Keeper or at the library, then the two friends would head over to the carnival. There, they could play various games, get on many rides, and enjoy a wide variety of activities. It was also important to note that every day involved a healthy amount of walking between places and checking out a variety of shops along the way. Furthermore, the two ladies also revisited the arena and obviously watched and rewatched a variety of plays. Granted, on days spent doing certain activities, they would ensure they looked their best, while on other days, more casual wear was often used.

  As the week progressed and the two friends grew closer, albeit with a few hours spent with their other party members, the most crucial day for them arrived. One thing that Rose and Jasmine had not done in what felt like forever was a sleepover. The idea seemed odd because, in a way, they had slept next to each other out in the wilds. However, anyone who had a best friend could say that the entire experience was completely different when done in the right environment.

  They had planned this day as the ultimate best friend day. They met up at a local breakfast shop that they both adored, and after an enjoyable meal, they passed by Lili’s shop. Sadly, no one had been there at the time, though they did eventually run into everyone. Alyx had been at a certain seaside shop speaking with a certain beautiful lady. A shop Jasmine and Rose had been meaning to pass by, and they figured that day was as good as any. Granted, the decision had been made in the moment, as best decisions are often made, and after equipping the clothing for a beach day, the two had headed over.

  Their chat with Alyx was brief, as they simply greeted the gnome and his girlfriend; the friends finding the woman more attractive than they likely should. Granted, they did buy some of her sweets before heading to the sand. After finding a good spot for a sunny beach day, the two began shyly removing their top layer of clothing. After all, they hadn’t walked around the city in their swimsuits. However, now they found themselves unwilling to expose themselves to the many beachgoers or each other. Sadly, for them, they did eventually remove every piece of cover, and their beautiful bodies were exposed.

  They both wore a two-piece swimsuit, but Jasmine’s was fully white, while Rose’s was fully red. These colors had been purposefully chosen by the other for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons. Jasmine chose red because it complemented the redhead's crimson look and beautiful fair skin, since she was literally unable to tan—at least not anymore. It was something Jasmine found a bit sad, because she liked the redhead with a little bit of a tan. A thought she was quick to shake away with a shake of her head.

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  On the other end of things, Rose loved Jasmine’s lively pale skin; however, she hadn’t chosen white for some aesthetic reason. She had chosen it because seeing her best friend wear black reminded her of him, and that day was supposed to be about them. So much so that there was awkwardness in the air and maybe a little blushing as Rose stared at Jasmine and Jasmine at Rose, neither saying anything, and they both just enjoyed the view at least for a few seconds longer. Eventually, things began to feel weird, and they both looked away, staring at the sand, trying to figure out what to do next.

  Surprisingly, Jasmine was the first to take action. Rose had been staring at the sand like it owed her money when Jasmine swooped in, grabbed her hand, causing the redhead’s head to whip over to her friend.

  “Come on, let's get in the water!” Jasmine said, joyfully having already begun to pull her, but having stopped to turn her head as she gave Rose such a beautiful smile that it made the redhead’s heart skip a beat, as she could only nod and run after her best friend.

  The two friends only spent a couple of hours at the beach, as they had actually planned a full day, and the beach detour was unexpected but amazing. After the beach, they separated for an hour while they showered and prepared for the rest of their day. The rest of their day would consist of watching a play or two, dining at a rather fancy restaurant, and enjoying a night out in the park. And to their surprise, they met Lili and Tesilim at the play, as the couple had also planned to attend. That said, after their day came to an end, the two separated one last time as they made final preparations for the night they would spend together.

  The sleepover would take place in Jasmine's place since Rose still lived at the temple. Arriving at her best friend's place, Rose's heart was beating rapidly as she was unsure how the night was going to develop. Opening the door with a smile, Jasmine was in her usual wear, and Rose was promptly welcomed in. That said, maybe to the redhead's disappointment or maybe not, the rest of the night was mostly rather normal.

  Heading into the house, they had some tea and snacks before proceeding to play a board game or two, all thanks to a certain chaotic elf who introduced them to the world of board games. At that point, it was getting rather late, but since they didn't have to work the next morning, they chatted about their week, their training, and the ridiculousness of Tesilim. This chat eventually turned into a serious affair as Jasmine asked for Rose’s opinion on the twins coming out to Lili and Tesilim.

  “I hate to say it, but I see where Arelion is coming from. However, I think that as long as they sign a contract, it shouldn’t be a problem. After all, if we do end up going on this expedition, there will be no hiding it.”

  Having heard Rose’s opinion, Jasmine felt a bit better about her stance, especially since coming out with the truth would involve telling her best friend the World Crystal’s involvement. That said, Jasmine had quickly changed the subject as they were meant to have a good night. Their talk turned to training and how much they had progressed. Of course, this eventually turned to light and careful not to break anything sparring. The sparring hadn’t been part of their plan, and they had slowly begun to build up a sweat as they demonstrated their skills with wooden weapons. Things got even sillier when sparring turned to wrestling as they turned their serious spar into smacking each other's ankles or ribs, which eventually had them rolling around as they tried to one-up each other by placing the other in various choke holds from their childhood days.

  “Gods, if Aunt Emy saw us now, she would totally yell at us,” Rose struggled to get out, her chest heaving as she tried to recover from their brawl.

  “Oh yeah, for sure!” Jasmine added with a giggle, remembering the few times she and Rose had ended up fighting for one silly reason or another.

  “I miss those days, I can’t believe I got away with so many pranks.”

  “Yeah, you were a real menace. I can’t believe I followed you around like a lost puppy.”

  “It's because I was great!” Rose half-shouted, somewhat recovered as she pumped a fist in the air.

  “Sure, whatever you say, Ms. Paladin,” Jasmine told her with pure sarcasm.

  “Hey! I am awesome! Though not so much right now, maybe we shouldn’t have gotten so sweaty so late at night.”

  “It's fine, we can always just take a bath. Remember when we used to bathe together?” Jasmine asked, melancholy in her voice as she remembered the days in the orphanage.

  “Yeah, those were great days,” Rose answered, her thoughts also turning back time.

  “Hey! I got an idea! Why don’t we go bathe together!?” Jasmine blurted, having gotten the idea out of nowhere.

  “Ye-” Rose almost shouted in agreement before she thought about Jasmine’s words and the implications. The issue wasn’t that it would be awkward—at least at first; it definitely would be—but instead was about Arelion. When they had bathed together before in Tesilim’s tree, it had been mostly clothed, which didn’t seem like the plan this time around. Sure, she knew Jasmine could turn off Arelion’s sight, but it would still feel weird, and she quickly changed her mind.

  “Uh, I am not sure,” Rose told her with hesitation.

  Of course, by this point, Jasmine had realized what she had suggested, and her face had gone crimson with embarrassment. Rose, not hearing anything from her friend, had turned and smirked upon seeing Jasmine’s face and chose to stay quiet until Jasmine finally got herself together a few minutes later.

  “Sorry, I - Uh, wasn’t thinking,” Jasmine apologized.

  “It's alright, how about you go first, in the meantime, I will rummage through your clothes for something to wear.”

  “Sounds good!” Jasmine answered as she hurriedly walked off towards the bathroom. Then, arriving at the bathroom, Jasmine remembered Arelion, and she smacked her face with an open palm.

  “Stupid!” Jasmine told herself.

  Rose hadn’t said no because they would see each other like that, but because she likely felt odd with Arelion present, even if Jasmine would absolutely block him off, like she had been doing since Rose arrived.